The British Military Administration of Somalia, 1941 to 1950

In short

British forces took Italian Somaliland in 1941 and governed it, under military rule, until the UN trusteeship began in 1950. The period saw the first Somali-led police force in the south and the rise of Somali political parties. This page records what the sources report. For the force it replaced, see Somali troops under Italian rule; for what came after, see The UN trusteeship, 1950 to 1960.

British rule

Britain counter-attacked in March 1941, retook British Somaliland and placed southern Somalia and the Ogaden under military administration (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, "Somalia During World War II"). Wikipedia dates the administration from 25 February 1941 to 1 April 1950 and lists its chief administrators as William Scupham (1941–1943), Denis Wickham (1943–1948), Eric de Candole (1948) and Geoffrey Gamble (1948–1950) (Wikipedia, British Military Administration (Somaliland)).

The Somalia Gendarmerie

The British disbanded the Italian security units in the south and raised the Somalia Gendarmerie, commanded by British officers, to police the occupied territory. Many of its first rank and file were askaris from Kenya and Uganda who had served under British officers; it became a Somali force over time as local recruits were trained at a new police academy. Its tasks included rounding up Italian stragglers and disarming Somalis who had taken weapons during the war. In the north the Somaliland Camel Corps was reorganised and later replaced by five battalions known as the Somaliland Scouts (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, "British Military Administration"). Siad Barre joined the police under the British administration (see his page). See Somali Police Force and Somaliland Camel Corps.

Parties, the Four Power Commission and the 1948 riots

The Somali Youth Club was founded in Mogadishu in 1943, had 25,000 members by 1946 and became the Somali Youth League in 1947. Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States formed a Four Power Commission on the territory's future, which reached Mogadishu in January 1948. During an SYL rally held during its visit, a counter-demonstration by pro-Italian groups turned violent, and in the riot 51 Italians and 24 Somalis were killed (Library of Congress, "British Military Administration"). The powers could not agree, and the question went to the UN General Assembly, which in November 1949 placed the territory under Italian trusteeship on condition of independence within ten years (Library of Congress; Wikipedia).

The Ogaden and the Haud

In 1948, under US and Soviet pressure, Britain returned the Ogaden to Ethiopia "over massive Somali protests", and in 1949 it returned further grazing areas (Library of Congress, "British Military Administration"). The later transfer of the Haud is covered in The Haud transfer, 1954 to 1955.

Sources differ

• When British rule ended. 1949 (Library of Congress) or 1 April 1950, when the trusteeship began (Wikipedia).
• The 1948 riots. The Library of Congress places the deaths in one riot in Mogadishu; Wikipedia describes riots in several coastal towns.

Read the primary sources yourself

• Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, "British Military Administration": page.
• Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, "Somalia During World War II": page.